Lots and lots of JetA

I burned highly filtered while heated veg mixture recipe I recieved from a greasecar site ,it was during hurricane Ikes visit to Houston and the destruction interuppted the pertrochemical industry and port traffic from entering the ship channel .It took 3 weeks for gas stations to get a regular supply up and current ,up until then it was spuratic 18 wheeled tankers that would be spotted ,alot of cars would follow the tankers to their destination ,quite a site to see a line of cars following a gas tanker .A Tia food restuarant donator had me as its oil recoverer for over a yr and I had plenty of unfiltered oil on hand.I used a blend of 90% filtered wvo ,5%rug and 5%kerosene .I fiqured I ran it for 4 weeks and another 4weeks after ,in those 2 months I estimated 250 gallons used .After going back to diesel the fuel smell was still tia lishess.

Strangest? Diesel from Quick trip.

I only fill with diesel from Shell and Chevron. I drive right past all the Circle K and member clubs that sell trash. So the QT fill up was the strangest, and it was done due to desperate circumstances.

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'84 190D 2.2 5MT (Red/Palomino) Current car. Love it!
'85 190D 2.2 Auto *Cali* (Blue/Blue) *sold*
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I always did the same, I'm not sure if its just my area or what, but shell sells the worst diesel out of any stores in the area.

I filled up the 95 in pineville, ky with shell diesel, got off the back roads, and onto the highway, went less than a mile on i75, and the car stalled. at 70+ mph under load. just quit.

pulled to the side of the road and the fuel filter was solid black. swapped it out, got it started again, made it to the next exit and stalled pulling into a shell station, where I explained what had happened, cleaned out the filter again, topped up with fresh diesel there, had someone run and buy one of those clear glass fuel filters, ended up cancelling my trip, headed back home, had to stop and clean the filter out 4 or 5 times, got home, drained the tank and watched the water and gunk settle out in different layers of a muddy colored liquid, filled up a can at a different station near home and had no more problems.


then just a few weeks ago filled the blue 82 at a shell in town here, and have had black gunk in the filter, haven't been on the highway though, but have died at traffic lights and going 55 on mainish roads.

ended up draining it out, filled from another station, it plugged once more, and no more problems after that.


I used to trust shell, but I won't buy from them anymore, I've got an in now too, my wife drives school bus and her boss only has 2 stations he lets his drivers fill up at, I always fill up at those now.

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1982 300D (w123, "Grey Car")
1982 300D (w123, "Blue Car")
2001 Ford F150 "Clifford" (The Big Red Truck)
1997 Dodge Ram 2500 12V Cummins
1996 Dodge Ram 2500 12V Cummins
Previous Vehicles:
1995 E300D, 1980 300SD, 1992 Buick Century, 2005 Saturn Ion

Fuel quality is critical to the healthy operation of our diesels. I have two personal rules I use to maximize the quality - always purchase fuel locally from a known high-volume station with a solid reputation and when traveling only purchase fuel at name brand truck stops on major interstates. This strategy has allowed me to put almost 100k miles on my existing filter. (I did replace the plastic filter recently though when cut open showed no appreciable foreign material) Now, let me hasten to add that I don't recommend this strategy without a fuel pressure meter - I monitor my fuel pressure in real time and can identify when a pressure drop due to a clogging filter is in progress (and also carry spare filters should a problem occur on the road)

Now, let me speak to my own area (San Diego County) - ALL OF OUR FUEL IS THE SAME. It literally comes from a single refinery in LA down the same pipeline to a single fuel farm and is stored in common storage tanks. Literally the only difference between name brand fuel and private label fuel is the branded additive to the fuel (Techron for example) which is added to the tanker truck as it departs to delivery runs. Same for diesel. So the only real difference in fuel is freshness and handling (clean tanks, fresh filters, close monitoring of cleanliness and control over contamination).

I suspect that in many areas the same situation applies.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

I sometime get rid of stale 2-cycle outboard motor gas in my gassers. Just a litre at a time in a full tank. How would this be in my 300D? It would basically be straight regular gas containing 50:1 2-cycle oil. Again, in small quantities. say 1Litre in 40 litres of diesel.

I never know what to do with the stuff.

BTW, bought the cheapest diesel I have seen for a long time, here in SC - $1.66/gal with CC. $1.61 with cash. (For GLK250)

ADDED: Maybe I should forget the outboard fuel! http://www.turbodieselregister.com/mixing_gasoline_and_diesel.htm

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Jarod, you visited a station with a biological infection of their tank.

In Tucson, Shell and Chevron have the highest cetane rating compared to all others. California has high numbers mandated and the HPR fuel is very high. We don't have any of that here. I haven't had any fuel system issues on the two 190Ds since owning them. My 84 got top tier only, while the 85 got Fry's or Circle K diesel when my sister drove it... No infections or contamination in either cars, but the bargain fuel was lower in cetane.

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'84 190D 2.2 5MT (Red/Palomino) Current car. Love it!
'85 190D 2.2 Auto *Cali* (Blue/Blue) *sold*
http://badges.fuelly.com/images/sig-us/302601.png
http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/sideview.png

Very true! I didn't even think about it.

I've also run paraffin based lamp oil. It won't work in my lanterns, so into ole Frankenyota it went. I run Jet A($4/gal) instead of kerosene($10/gal) in my lanterns and stuff, so some of that might have gotten into the truck too. Other than different exhaust smells and quieter running with some of the more lubricious fuels, I haven't noticed a difference in how it runs.

I've been plagued by fuel cleanliness issues the entire time I've owned this truck. It was definitely worse after stopping at certain stations, clogging fuel filters in 30 miles. Then I discovered my fuel tank and presumably my fuel lines were rusty. Replaced the fuel tank and the lines, and still get rusty gunk and black bits in my fuel filters every so often. Went over kill on the filters, Griffin GTB228(GRIFFIN GTB228) and a CAT 1R750 and now I run whatever fuel I feel like and haven't had to change a filter since. I do have to drain sediment and gunk out of the Griffin every so often, but the truck is happy. That turbine sure does a good job letting the heavy stuff settle out before it ever gets to the filter element. Haven't seen any water, knock on wood.

Edit: I've also run 2 stroke oil. A gallon added to the tank sure smoothed things out.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

nothing unusual, judging by this thread.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Does this mean he should add a biocide to prevent his tank from becoming a breaking ground?

I am getting biobor to add to the tanks, especially after the fillup of the 82 I realized it was likely algae.

I called and complained to the shell mother company thing that was listed on the reciept, they said they went and tested the fuel at both stations and found nothing was wrong, they would not reimburse me for the fuel, or the filters, the contamination was already in my tank.

I drove thousands of miles the prior week with the 95, and had no problems, the 82 i had put several hundred the previous weeks and had no issues until the fillup.

they did not care at all. I started fuel shopping elsewhere, and whether the cetane is lower or not, I do notice one big difference, the car actually runs on it.

__________________
1982 300D (w123, "Grey Car")
1982 300D (w123, "Blue Car")
2001 Ford F150 "Clifford" (The Big Red Truck)
1997 Dodge Ram 2500 12V Cummins
1996 Dodge Ram 2500 12V Cummins
Previous Vehicles:
1995 E300D, 1980 300SD, 1992 Buick Century, 2005 Saturn Ion

Weirdest for me was a 5 gallon block of virgin but condemned palm oil, which is solid at room temp. Took a while to cut it up into sticks and feed into a heated tank, and about 20 minutes to melt.

Car was a rocket on the stuff. More bang for the buck than #2

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Yes, try biocide first but for a really bad tank you'll need to pull it out to clean it and clean the tank strainer.


What happens is these bacteria grow at the water/fuel boundary line and digest the fuel while living in the water. They are not algae, since they don't require light to live. The problem is water, which builds up over time from filling up, and from condensation after sitting through a temp change and humid weather without a full tank.

Your one station infected the tank. Since the stations are owned by franchises and not Shell, I've seen wild extremes from clean and new to old and delapitated. I choose the new and clean stations, I choose "my" pump, I don't fill up when a delivery truck is there, and I have never had issues. The Shell or Chevron fuel is the same at all of their stations, but the disrepair is the fault of the individual owner.

Anyway, try the Biobor and see how it turns out. When your prefilter stops clogging, it's clean. Just blow out your prefilter when it gets clogged, then reinstall. Eventually it'll stop clogging. Then change both filters, dose it once more, and don't go to that station again.

Cetane is very important in the cold and with engines that are worn and have lower compression. It's the willingness of the fuel to ignite, higher is better.

__________________
'84 190D 2.2 5MT (Red/Palomino) Current car. Love it!
'85 190D 2.2 Auto *Cali* (Blue/Blue) *sold*
http://badges.fuelly.com/images/sig-us/302601.png
http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/sideview.png

I've got a strainer for the 82 as I was worried about it getting plugged up with all this mess

Ah, I'd always heard of it referred to as algae, Thank you very much for clearing that up, always nice to know what can be going on.

Is there any way to remove the water?

I ended up pulling the tank on the 95 as it was too bad to get clean, had to change all the filters and everything, plus there was literally a ton of water, it settled out of the fuel i drained, and be without a car for several days waiting for a new tank strainer for it, as I didn't have either 82 at that time i believe, or was in a big project on the one i did have.

2 separate shell stations technically, as it was 2 cars, filled one in pineville and one in lafollette.
But I really hope I've caught it soon enough and it just clears up with the biocide and I don't have to pull the tank from the 82 too.

__________________
1982 300D (w123, "Grey Car")
1982 300D (w123, "Blue Car")
2001 Ford F150 "Clifford" (The Big Red Truck)
1997 Dodge Ram 2500 12V Cummins
1996 Dodge Ram 2500 12V Cummins
Previous Vehicles:
1995 E300D, 1980 300SD, 1992 Buick Century, 2005 Saturn Ion

My neighbor said he has run some Thompson's Water Seal through a diesel genset.
That is mostly mineral spirits from what I remember, so it is concievable that it would work if diluted enough with #2.